The Reading Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” - Matthew 5:43–48  Reflection by Tom Nicolson Be. Perfect. Stop what you’re doing, and think, for a moment. Did you ever have a place in your life where you could go, and just…be? Is there a place that calls to you, emotionally, spiritually, a place where you have felt a sense of peace, a sense of wholeness? What comes to mind? Is it a physical locatio

The Collect Lord Christ, our eternal Redeemer, grant us such fellowship in your sufferings, that, filled with your Holy Spirit, we may subdue the flesh to the spirit, and the spirit to you, and at the last attain to the glory of your resurrection; who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.   Amen. The Reading Psalm 130 De profundis Out of the depths have I called to you, O   Lord; Lord, hear my voice; let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication. If you,   Lord, were to note what is done amiss, O Lord, who could stand? For there is forgiveness with you; therefore you shall be feared. I wait for the   Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope. My soul waits for the   Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, wait for the   Lord, for with the   Lord there is mercy; With him there is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins.  Re

The Reading   Matthew 7:7-12 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!   “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.   Reflection by Keith Tan “Everyone who asks receives.”   That’s quite a promise from Jesus!   Jesus challenges us to ask, and to keep on asking, even when it doesn’t seem like God is answering.   It is not easy.   When God is silent, it is easier to stop asking.   “Prayer doesn’t work,” we say.   But does God grant every request that we ask of God?   I

 The Reading ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you fri

 The Reading But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.   -  Matthew 6:7-15, King James Version   Reflection For me, this specific version of the Lord's Prayer, verses 9-13, is very special. I memorized it growing up in the Presbyt

The Collect:   A lmighty and everlasting God, mercifully increase in us your gifts of holy discipline, in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting; that our lives may be directed to the fulfilling of your most gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen. When I first read the collect of the day, two words jumped out at me:   “holy discipline”.   Sometimes it is so hard to maintain the discipline of Christian life.   Reading the Bible, praying, attending worship and just trying to live your life in Jesus’ image can be a lot to keep up with.   It takes a great effort and desire on our parts to live the Christian life and sometimes it can feel like too much. I think that’s why this prayer uses the words “holy discipline”, because the disciplines of Christian life certainly cannot be maintained by our own will, but only by relying on the holy presence of God to keep us on track.   Then, I read the Psalm for

The Readings Isaiah 58:9b–14: If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make

The Reading Psalm 51 Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God,    according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy    blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,    and cleanse me from my sin.    For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned,    and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence    and blameless when you pass judgement. Indeed, I was born guilty,    a sinner when my mother conceived me.    You desire truth in the inward being;    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness;    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins,    and blot out

The Collect Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favor, and further us with your continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and finally, by your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Reading Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.”  He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”  Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, l